Latest Rankings Highlight Lansing Region’s National Appeal for Top Tech Talent
LANSING, Mich. (Sept. 23, 2020) — Years of regional coordination and partnerships focused on building a robust Lansing regional high-tech and entrepreneurial ecosystem continue to pay off, with the Lansing-East Lansing Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) landing the eleventh spot on CompTIA’s 2021 Annual Tech Town Index announced in March 2022. A high concentration of engineers, robust pool of tech students, appealing cost of living and business cost climate are primary factors helping the Lansing Region beat out major midwest metros, including Chicago, Indianapolis and Columbus, to attract top tech talent.
“The Lansing Region has come a long way over the last thirteen years in building a network of opportunities for tech companies and talent to locate, expand and excel,” said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP). “This week, TechSmith, one of the world’s leading software companies, opened its new state-of-the-art international headquarters on MSU’s campus. Earlier this year, we announced the $2.5 billion Ultium electric battery plant, Neogen’s $70M expansion, and Amazon and McKesson’s state-of-the-art distribution facilities last year. And there’s more on the way. These significant high-tech project wins and rankings like this highlight our region’s diverse knowledge economy and the good jobs that come with it.”
High-tech jobs continue to grow in number and wage levels in various industries in the Lansing region. CompTIA’s rankings noted the Lansing region’s tech job opportunities are projected to grow an additional 7.5% through 2026, outpacing the national average. The Lansing region is also home to two educational powerhouses, globally ranked research institution Michigan State University (MSU) and nationally ranked Lansing Community College (LCC), another essential factor attracting tech jobs and talent to the Lansing region.
LEAP’s Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Joe Carr, elaborated on the state of the Lansing region’s collaboration and partnerships that have helped the Lansing-East Lansing MSA’s attractive tech ecosystem stating, “We have confidence in our continued success with these efforts, thanks to support from LEAP members and many local partners, including the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Lansing Regional Smartzone, Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at LCC, MSU Foundation and Red Cedar Ventures, who have worked together with us to grow the region’s ability to attract and retain high caliber tech talent and businesses.”
The complete data set for all ranked communities, methodology, and past rankings is available through CompTIA.
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About LEAP
The Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) is a coalition of area leaders partnering to build a stronger community for all--working every day to grow, retain and attract business to the Lansing, Michigan, region.
